I finally figured it out. The reason Laura won't come out of her catatonic state is because the sicko nurses at Shadybrook or Ferncliff, or Roselawn, or whichever mental hospital she is in, are dyeing her hair the wrong color. She sees her reflection in the mirror, doesn't recognize herself, screams, and falls back into her stupor. Even Heather Weber took care of Laura's blonde locks and brushed them out every day when she had her locked in the Quartermaine attic. When Luke went to see the back of Laura's head this week, it was the wrong color. Before all the brunettes write me hate mail again, I am merely pointing out that Laura was blonde in the past, and this week, whatever random person they chose to sit in the Laura chair while Luke talked to her faceless head, had the wrong hair color. I am in no way disparaging people of any race, creed, or hair color. My own hair color changes quite frequently, so I hold no allegiance to any certain shade. Honest.
When Luke told Tracy he had an unpleasant task to do, I knew what it was. He had to tell Laura that Justus had been killed. The amazing thing about Tony Geary is that even when he is acting against a faceless back of a head, he's still emoting like crazy. He's phenomenal. The absolute brilliance of his scenes with "Laura" (I'll take off the " "'s after Laura has a face again.) were sparkling like diamonds. It was so poignant and real. And before he got to the back of Laura's head, his scenes with Tracy were equally moving. I am trying not to get too invested in Tracy and Luke. You do see it coming, don't you? They are just building up Luke and Tracy's relationship so when Laura comes back we will have to watch Tracy's heart get broken again. No wonder she's so bitter. She's never had much luck with the dudes.
I would like to make mention of what a stellar week of acting we have had overall- from Edward reminiscing about Justus, Bradley and Mary Mae, to Dillon getting the news that Georgie cheated on him with Diego, to Sonny's total downward spiral into the abyss of mental illness, to Manny's attempt at trying to convince Sam that he and Jason were just the same and Carly reluctantly resuming her role as Sonny's caretaker. Wow. ABC is blessed with a plethora of acting powerhouses. I know that daytime acting isn't always viewed in the most favorable light, but all you have to do is look at one of those "They Started on Soaps" shows to realize that Daytime Television is the training ground for tomorrow's Oscar nominees - Hillary Swank, Julianne Moore, Tommy Lee Jones, Meg Ryan, Robert De Niro, Robert Downey Jr. and many more of today's greats started on soaps.
One of GH's stellar performances this week came from Maurice Benard. This man is bleeding himself dry to show us the reality of bipolar disorder; he is opening his own veins for us. Do you see it? As she showed up on Jason's doorstep this week pleading for Jason to save him from hurting Emily, he was completely vulnerable. In his scenes with Emily, where she believed she was his dead wife Lily, he had lost a total grip on reality. In the scenes where her beat Ric senseless, we saw how dark the dark side of this illness truly is.
Sonny Corinthos is a complicated man. He is, as Max pointed out this week, moody even on a good day...He's sometimes selfish, demanding, arrogant, rude and bossy. Other times he is generous, fun, kind, and romantic. He's Jekyll and Hyde. You are never quite sure which version of Sonny you will get on any given day. Certain people would steer clear of Sonny on the days when he is uncooperative, surly, argumentative and downright violent. But Carly, even knowing she was walking in on Sonny at his lowest and darkest point went to him anyway. She knew he would attack her and verbally abuse her. She knew he would go out of his way to hurt her, because the prevailing hurt inside him is so overpowering, it can't help but spill out. She knew he would be horrible to her, and yet - she went. She went.
She said she only went because Jason asked her to, but the truth is, she went even before Jason asked her to although she snuck out upon seeing him with Emily (or Lily, as she is also known.) Sonny needs Carly, and she knows it. She is willing to take his abuse to reach him when no one else can. She is willing to make herself his punching bag if it keeps him from falling over the parapet of darkness he is teetering upon. When all is said and done; she loves him. They fight all the time. Just last week she told him she hated him and would never forgive him for what he had done to Jason. And now, there she is, right by his side again in a crisis. She loves him. She can't even help herself. She loves him. As the Sarah McLachlan song says "Hold on, hold on to yourself, for this is gonna hurt like hell..."
Emily got sent packing. Sonny doesn't want her exposed to him in this condition. The downside of eliminating Emily from the mix is that she is the only sensible one in the bunch, continually telling him to get medical help for his bi-polar disorder. He won't believe it's a treatable mental condition - it's far easier for him to believe he is damaged from years of abuse, or that it's some punishment from God for his life of crime, than to imagine there is actually a way to free him from the demons that torment him. I am glad one of Sonny's demons punched Ric in his stupid, creepy face, as he had it coming. I am only sorry Max didn't knock him a few times too while he had the chance.
Edward realized he missed his chance with Justus, and spoke with regret about trying to mold Justus into an ELQ Suit when his heart was elsewhere. He reminisced about Mary Mae and his son Bradley with a penetrating sadness is his eyes. Again, many thanks to whoever signed the contract that sealed the deal on bringing back John Ingle. He's fabulous.
Meanwhile, in the Quartermaine Boathouse, Lulu told Dillon that she witnessed Georgie and Diego making love. Lulu is a liar of course, but such a convincing one that Dillon believed her. He was both heartbroken and full of rage. Dillon believed Lulu's lie, as he was already jealous of Diego and insecure about where he and Georgie stood, and Lulu knew that all he needed was the hint of impropriety to jump to all the wrong conclusions. Mind you, Georgie is not blameless in all this, as if she hadn't been mostly naked and wet in the boathouse with Diego after an impromptu skinny dipping, it wouldn't have looked so bad when Dillon came busting in on them. It's the whole "avoid the appearance of evil" mentality - if she didn't keep going places alone with Diego, people would have to stop accusing her of sleeping with him. Mind you, I am NOT letting Lulu off the hook. Her lie was cruel and selfish and designed to break up Dillon and Georgie, so she could have Dillon all to herself, and sadly, it appear her plan may have worked, as last we saw them, Dillon looked to be pouncing on Lulu for a good round of revenge sex.
The person most hell bent on revenge this week however, was Manny Ruiz. He wants to settle his score with Jason by holding Sam as bait and luring Jason in to watch as he tortures her and tattoos notes on her shoulder, or some other sick freak thing. Point of interest... Manny broke into Alexis' house with a moustache, and a little later when he put his hand over Sam's mouth in bed, his moustache was gone. What, did he stop in the bathroom on the way upstairs and borrow Ric's Norelco Electric Razor? But continuity issues aside, I must give praise to Robert LaSardo who plays Manny. Manny has gone from being pure evil to showing a little (very little, okay microscopic) amounts of humanity. Obviously Manny's life has been hellish. Anger and violence are all he knows. But this week, I got the feeling Manny actually has regrets. There are rules he feels he has to follow. He told Sam he didn't want to hurt her, but Jason shot his brother and he has to get revenge. It's as if he believes he doesn't have a choice. Manny actually tried to explain himself to Sam, to convince her that he and Jason are similar creatures. Who knows, maybe Manny has a babe back home that thinks he is really sweet? I admit, every week I have called Manny a creep, or a freak, or some other word to express the fact that he gives me the Heebie Jeebies. But Manny and Robert LaSardo, the actor who portrays Manny, is not the same person. Robert LaSardo is a veteran who served in the U.S. Navy, and a man who has studied acting at the Stella Adler Conservatory in NYC. What makes Mr. LaSardo a great actor, is the fact that we believe he IS Manny and see him as Manny. I bet it's no fun for people to see you as Manny when you're off work and at Starbucks trying to order a latte.
What will happen tomorrow, dear readers? Will Luke be Dillon's step-dad and father-in-law at the same time if Lulu gets herself knocked up? Will Elizabeth suddenly recall another important detail about Manny's kidnapping M.O. 4 or 5 days from now? Will Alexis continue to jail people who haven't committed crimes to weed out the streets to make it easier to spot Manny going' to town for supplies? Will Robin have sex with Nikolas to get even with Patrick for having sex with Carly to get even with her for thinking they have a relationship? Will anyone ever move into Courtney's old loft? (I kinda miss the sofa bed.) Will Colleen the Nanny blackmail Helena into changing baby John's diapers? Will Skye give birth before Christmas?
Only tomorrow knows, dear readers, and I will tune in tomorrow as long as there are tomorrows.
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